168: Kevin Donaghy twice survived skin cancer | immunotherapy | pembroluzimab | metastatic melanoma

What began as a harmless looking spot on Kevin Donaghy’s forearm turned into a pair of diagnoses of skin cancer.  The first was Stage II in 2018, but 18 months later, it returned and was diagnosed Stage IV metastatic melanoma BRAF+.  The urologist said Kevin, an IT specialist from Melrose, Scotland, may have six months to live unless he underwent a newly-approved immunotherapy known as pembroluzimab.  That was in 2020, and Kevin is still with us.  The immunotherapy triggered a bout of ulcerative colitis, which left him bedridden for six months, but Kevin says his health is no different than it was before his diagnosis.

 

In late 2017, Kevin didn’t give much thought to a spot he saw on his forearm.  He thought he might have cut himself and didn’t know it.  When the spot didn’t go away, he sought medical attention.  His doctor said the spot did not look cancerous, prescribed some cream for Kevin to rub on it, and said if the spot changes in size, shape or color, to come back.  The spot made none of those changes, but it also didn’t go away.

 

Kevin was referred to a dermatologist, who called for a biopsy.  He was away on a business trip when he received an urgent phone call stating that Kevin needed to come in that afternoon.  He came in two days later and the dermatologist said the biopsy indicated Kevin had a cancerous tumor in his forearm.  Another biopsy was conducted to see if the cancer had spread to any lymph nodes and thankfully it hadn’t.

 

Not long after the tumor was removed, Kevin received a phone call from the oncologist while walking in downtown Edinburgh.  The doctor told Kevin he was cancer free.  On the sidewalk, he dropped to his knee and wept, overcome with relief.  He thought the worst was over.

 

However, his health took a turn for the worse some 18 months later when he experienced severe back pain and sought medical attention.  Another biopsy revealed that the melanoma had spread, bypassing his lymph nodes, but resulting in tumors on his right lung and one next to his spine, which was the source of back pain.

 

Kevin was told he had six months to live unless a procedure involving an immunotherapy called pembroluzimab was successful.  The operation seemed to go well, but at its conclusion, Kevin had to periodically come in for CT scans.  A couple years later, Kevin was contacted by his urologist who said the immunotherapy had shrunk the tumors and again, he was told he was cancer free.

 

There was one more problem for Kevin.  The immunotherapy triggered ulcerative colitis, a chronic inflammatory disease.  He was bedridden for six months, but eventually survived that as well.

 

These days Kevin Donaghy says his health is just as sharp as it was prior to his diagnosis, and that going forward he “wants to do more.”

 

He has gone on to write a book, “Stories of Hope and Cancer.”  Thousands of copies have been donated to cancer charities around the United Kingdom.  It chronicles the stories of 39 cancer survivors.

 

Additional Resources:

 

Kevin’s book: “Stories of Hope and Cancer,” available on Amazon, with proceeds going to cancer charities throughout the United Kingdom.